The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Porur lakebed operation on

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Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Porur lakebed operation on

Staff Reporter

Debris being removed

On November 28, 2006, 4000 families were evicted

KANCHEEPURAM: The exercise of ‘retrieving’ 550 acres of the Porur lakebed has been entrusted to a religious-cum-social service organisation.

Enquiries reveal that the organisation, headquartered in Andhra Pradesh, has accepted the job of removing debris and other earth dumped on the lakebed by encroachers and started the operation recently.

The Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur district administrations, on November 28, 2006, evicted nearly 4000 families, who had encroached upon 550 acres out of 850 acres of the Porur lakebed, following a court direction. While alternative accommodation was provided to 2000 families at Nallur in Sriperumpudur taluk, accommodation for the remaining families was provided in Tiruvallur district.

Lack of funds and equipment

Debris and other earth on the 550 acres of land, which was reclaimed by the authorities through eviction in November last year, have remained at the same place for more than six months.

When contacted, senior officials said lack of funds and equipment was the prime reason for the delay in retrieving the lakebed.

Normally, whenever an eviction exercise was taken up on lands, men and equipment were hired with funds pooled in by the departments concerned.

When it came to waterbodies, the entire burden fall on the district administration or on the Public Works Department.

Under these circumstances, the officials pointed out that the very purpose of a Government Order, issued recently for re-drawing boundaries of waterbodies and for the subsequent reclaiming process, could not be achieved.

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